Thick skin with a sinister cause
This is malignant acanthosis nigricans in a man in his 80s (fig 1). He presented…
Category: British Medical Journal
Seven days in medicine: 12-18 April 2023
Covid-19“Pandemic hoax” surgeon loses suspension appealThe High Court upheld a decision to suspend a senior…
Help me manage my sickle cell pain
I received a diagnosis of sickle cell disease when I was around 18 months old….
Scotland needs raft of measures to reduce alcohol harms, say medical groups
Leading medical organisations and charities in Scotland are calling for tougher measures to reduce the…
Anaphylaxis: Senior coroner calls for national leadership and research to prevent deaths
A senior coroner has demanded action from the UK government to prevent more patients dying…
Sudan: WHO calls for protection of health workers and patients amid increased violence
The World Health Organization has urged all parties to the current conflict in Sudan to…
Decision to allow neurologist voluntary erasure was illegal “fiasco,” says ȷudge
The process that allowed a neurologist at the centre of Northern Ireland’s biggest patient recall…
The fossil fuel industry has no place in climate negotiations
The Prince Mahidol Award Conference took place in Bangkok, Thailand, at the end of January…
Blue plaque honours pioneering GP
bmj;381/apr19_3/p869/FAF1faBert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/GettyMore than 50 years after his death, the life of the influential…
Scarlett McNally: Let’s talk about contraception
Worldwide, 50% of pregnancies are unplanned.1 In 2021 the number of women in England and…
Funders crack down on unpublished clinical trials—but is it enough?
The consequences of failing to report clinical trial results are huge: patients are deprived of…
Government plans are insufficient to make England smoke free by 2030, warn experts
The latest government plans to cut smoking rates are “a step forward” but are only…
Meagre spending on tobacco control is costing the economy billions
On the publication of Javed Khan’s Independent Review into smoking last year we wrote an…
.jpg)
Should I use my professional title outside of work?
Be mindful of professional obligations Kathryn Leask, Medical Defence Union medicolegal adviser, says, “You’ve worked…
Cutting investment in the social care workforce will undermine the NHS recovery plan
A major societal concern of our time is making health and social care systems fit…
E-cigarette maker Juul will pay $462m to settle deceptive marketing allegations in six US states
Juul Laboratories, the e-cigarette manufacturer singled out by US authorities as the leading culprit in…
.jpg)
We must not turn away from crimes against humanity in Iran
Over the past 44 years, the regime in Iran has indiscriminately jailed, tortured, abused, and…
Maggie Eisner
bmj;381/apr18_52/p832/FAF1faMargaret Claire Eisner (“Maggie”) was born in Cardiff. She was the only child of Conrad,…
Government must drop “nonsensical” demands to avoid further strikes, says BMA
Junior doctors’ leaders have vowed to focus on seeking a settlement with the government over…
NHS postponed 195 000 appointments during latest strike, data show
The NHS in England saw 195 000 appointments postponed during the four days of strike…
Mifepristone remains available in US until midnight on 19 April
Justice Samuel Alito of the US Supreme Court ruled on 14 April that mifepristone, a…
Doctor imprisoned for patient’s death after botched biopsy is struck off
A doctor currently serving a prison sentence for manslaughter after a botched bone marrow biopsy…
Helen Salisbury: Experts at the front door
While doctors in training were on strike last week, consultants and GPs did their best…
Government isn’t doing enough to end “shameful” inequality in maternal mortality, MPs say
The government underestimates the extent to which racism plays a role in the “appalling” inequalities…
Denosumab and incidence of type 2 diabetes among adults with osteoporosis: population based cohort study
AbstractObjectiveTo estimate the effect of denosumab compared with oral bisphosphonates on reducing the risk of…
‘That scares me’: New childhood obesity guidelines still face a long road to consensus
This is part of a series about new obesity drugs that are transforming patients’ lives,…
West Nile, Lyme, and other diseases are on the rise with climate change. Experts warn the U.S. is not prepared
In the summer and fall of 2021, West Nile virus spread rapidly through Arizona’s Maricopa…
Beijing rebukes new Covid testing requirements for travelers from China
BEIJING — The Chinese government sharply criticized COVID-19 testing requirements imposed on passengers from China…
Clinicle—a daily dose of word play from The BMJ
Test your clinical knowledge with The BMJ’s new word game, Clinicle. Move the horizontal word…
Science and truth during the covid-19 pandemic
During the covid-19 pandemic, I became one of those talking heads on the TV and…
Ambulances face oxygen shortage as “twindemic” piles further pressure on NHS
The NHS is struggling to cope with the “twindemic” of covid and flu, as the…
Emergency contraceptive pills don’t induce abortion, says US regulator
Emergency contraceptive pills work by inhibiting or delaying ovulation and are not abortifacients, the US…
Rivaroxaban: Lancet opens investigation into anticlotting drug trial after BMJ report
The Lancet has said it will open an investigation into a trial of the anticlotting…
We need tougher action on reducing air pollution
The recent Chief Medical Officer’s annual report had a welcome focus on air pollution, demonstrating…
Why you should think about “tokothanatology”
There are only two days in your life that are less than 24 hours long—the…
NHS pay: January strike dates are announced as government says demands are “unaffordable”
Unions representing nursing and ambulance staff have announced further strike dates for January 2023, as…
A third of junior doctors plan to leave NHS to work abroad in next 12 months
Four in 10 junior doctors in the UK plan to leave the NHS as soon…
US public health services, research, and food security will benefit from government spending boost in 2023
Public health, pandemic preparedness, infectious disease control, research to drive biomedical and health breakthroughs, veterans’…
US life expectancy reaches 25 year low
In 2021 life expectancy in the US fell for the second year in a row…
Why doctors travelled to COP27
The annual UN climate change conference gathers politicians and experts from hundreds of countries in…
University Challenge was the worst exam I have ever done
Examinations are the hallmark of medical education, and I hated every one. So why volunteer…
Why is Florida’s governor ramping up his anti-vaccine rhetoric?
On 13 December 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held what he ominously called a “Covid-19…
The NHS is failing us, but we are failing it too
In October, Kit Yates and I wrote about how the NHS was facing its bleakest…
Scarlet fever infections rise to nearly 30 000, UKHSA reports
Latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show a continued increase in scarlet…
Scotland passes bill making it easier to legally change gender
A controversial new law that makes it easier for people to change their gender has…
Refusing to negotiate NHS pay is a false economy
This might be the most challenging period the NHS has ever faced. Bed occupancy rates…
Covid-19: Molnupiravir does not cut hospital admissions or deaths in vaccinated people at high risk, trial finds
The antiviral drug molnupiravir does not reduce hospital admissions or deaths among vaccinated high risk…
NHS pay: Leaders call for government to negotiate amid concerns over “level of risk” in NHS
The government must “get round the table and have sensible conversations” about NHS staff pay…
Medical activists as agents of change
Even when physicians focus their work on the care of individual patients, they often see…
Black women’s menstrual and reproductive health: a critical call for action in the UK
Inadequate menstrual health education in the UK contributes to delayed and poor treatment for menstrual…